I'm Begging for Your Help Because I want a Jaunt to London

Hey folks, I'm a finalist in the Amara Interior Design Blog Awards, exciting! World of Kitsch features a little of everything, but it started as a blog showcasing my home wares odd and brilliant as they are. 

To vote, follow this link, fill in your name and an email address and that's it. No need to register for anything. I would REALLY appreciate it. Usually at this time of year I'm over for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards, but I didn't make finals this year, and I'm missing my liberating, lone journey to London.

Thank you in advance x

Pony Cycle Penpals

Pony Cycles are galloping out the door already in time for Christmas 2014. The Northern Irish company who supply the bike/rocking horse hybrids say stocks are limited, so if your child has the grand request of a pony from Santa, make sure you're either buying, or joining the Pony Cycle Christmas Club and spreading the  cost from this month.

For kids lucky enough to have a pony already, Pony Cycles have recently launched their Pony Pen Pals, encouraging children to write and share their Pony Cycle adventures.

Each letter received to the Stables receives a personalised reply from the Pony Cycle Team and a Pony Pen Pal stationary pack to encourage creativity.

So Pony Cycle parents why not encourage your kids on rainy days to get scribbling?

Forward all your Pen Pal letters to:

Pony Cycle Stables.

20 Keans Hill Road,

Campsie Industrial Estate,

L’ Derry.

BT473YT

Heatons Have a Really Scary Clown Outfit this Halloween

Not on the Heatons' Website just yet, and perhaps not in store yet either, how scary is this clown outfit?

£20

There are costumes for all the family, including this year's most wanted Frozen outfits. Bookmark Heatons' to keep an eye on when they go on sale.

£15 Elsa also available soon

£10

£12

£10

£16

The MAC Gets Arty with Food

Saturday 4 October  will see the multi award-winning 'Canteen' restaurant, located in the heart of the MAC, Belfast, kick-off a bountiful weeklong series of food and drink events to rival any in the city.

Sean McCann, Head Chef at Canteen at the MAC is pictured alongside award-winning guest chef, Joery Castel who will  be holding a  special Art of Food & Wine night, on Thursday 9th October. 

Sharon Wright, director JRS Catering, explains: 

“Saturday will kick start the week with our Craft Beer & Cider Tasting event which allows guests to sample the very best of these brews alongside some well matched food bites.

“On Saturday 11 October, we will be holding our ever-popular Coffee Brew Bar Masterclass which allows extensive coffee tasting allowing guests to discover brewing methods from the experts.

“And the absolute pinnacle of our Belfast Restaurant Week celebrations will be our extra special Art of Food & Wine night, held on Thursday 9th October where Sean McCann, Head Chef at Canteen alongside award-winning guest chef, Joery Castel will cook up a culinary storm.

For further information on Canteen at the MAC, including menus and photo gallery please visit themaclive.com/foodanddrink or call 028 9023 5053 to make a booking or enquiry.

Mari Kasurinen's Pop Culture My Little Ponies Are My New Favourite Thing

Mari Kasurinen is a pop artist from Finland who sculpts very impressive custom My Little Ponies. Which is your favourite?

Wagamama For Dummies : How to Do Noodles Without Looking Like a Beginner

My lovely friend Jane often posts beautiful pictures of Japanese cuisine on her Instagram feed. It always looks so healthy, colourful and delicious, so I decided on our next night out, my husband and I would try Wagamama's Belfast restaurant.

We had been once before, back when the branch opened, but at the time Michael was still a toddler, and it was a busy day, so we didn't really get to enjoy the experience. 

If you're a beginner like me I'll explain what goes on, as it's a little different to a regular western restaurant experience. You are seated at one of the rows of benches and tables, it's surprisingly comfy, and the atmosphere is bustling and friendly. The Belfast branch is quite warm, I mention this because I always like to know that sort of thing when planning what to wear!

Wagamama is primarily a Japanese noodle restaurant, but the menu extends to lavish salads and tasty sides like ribs or dumplings. If you've never been then I strongly recommend using the Wagamama website as a cheat sheet to help you narrow down your meal choice in advance. It has photographs of each of the dishes, which really helps if like me you don't know your soba from your udon.

If you haven't time to play around on the website, don't feel shy about asking your waiter for advice. We had help from a great waiter called Luke, who described to me the most popular dishes and helped me to pick the teriyaki beef soba as my main. I ordered it rare and ohmygod it was delicious.

My husband chose the Firecracker prawn, which was presented as one of the most beautiful dishes I've ever seen. He loves spicy food and is used to ordering so called 'hot' food only to find it to be quite mild, but this was HOT.

Your main cutlery at Wagamama will be chopsticks. I like to think I can use chopsticks, so I ate my noodles with them, but I think I was just mashing the two sticks together and hoping for the best. Don't fret though, your waiter will bring a good old knife and fork with your food too. 

We also tried some sides, the gyoza chicken dumplings and the edamame soya beans with chilli and salt. The latter proved another problem for the uninitiated. I wasn't sure how to eat them. The outer shell was coated in seasoning, but was I supposed to eat them whole? Luke to the rescue again who explained your pop the pod in your mouth, eat the beans and pull the case back out. Of course this was after I'd already eaten two or three crunchy bean pods whole.... whoops.

We loved our meal, and big thanks to Luke for the great service. I'm currently having great difficulty resisting phoning my husband and asking him to pick up takeaway Wagamama after writing this post. That beautiful rare steak photo is making me drool! 

Let me know on Twitter if you love @WagamamaBelfast too! 

Stand For Something: Belfast Doc Marten's Store Opening Night

The Belfast Doc Marten's Store had it's official launch last night, with music by The Groundlings and a DJ set from Terri Hooley. The iconic building has two storeys of shop floor and features huge artwork by local artist Visual Waste on the winding staircase. 

I've never seen so many DMs in one place, both on sale and on feet, as everyone at the opening party had styled their boots or shoes to their own personal taste. I wore my cherry red Mayen Docs, which are incredibly comfy for a high boot. I've been wearing Docs since I was eleven (in 1991!), they are a brand very close to my heart, so it was a great pleasure to be part of the launch of the store.

Drinks were sourced from local brewers Farmageddon, and the food from Love & Death Inc. The fish and chips in cups were amazing.

The store is definitely worth popping into if you're in Belfast this weekend, as there will be discounts and offers running to celebrate the opening. The range includes women's boots and shoes, men's and also children's and even babies' Docs which are terribly cute. The clothing range also tempted me, lots of vintage vibe punk wear and smart mod styles. Make sure you call in and check it out.

Bee Hive Inspired Furniture from The Dusty Little Workshop

These are very cute. Check out The Dusty Little Workshop and bookmark to keep in the loop as more designs are added.